The Twins Who Were Loved
by ColorMeMonochrome
Summary: A twist on the Wrong BWL plot. The night Voldemort came to attack the Potters, Pettigrew was babysitting the twins. Loving!Potters Redeemable!Dumbledore


Plot Bunny that had to be written out. Almost a parody. But not as funny.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or its universe. I wrote this story for fun, and not for profit. I can only claim Richard Potter, and the concept of the American school that Sirius names.

* * *

"Professor Dumbledore, you must be out of your mind," said Lily Potter, clutching her baby Richard and leaning away from the mad man. She rocked in a nearly destroyed chair, recovered by magic. Three adults, and two young baby boys were in a burnt nursery. Richard, a boy with plain straight brown hair and hazel eyes, was sniffling.

The other, Harry Potter, had an almost out-of-place serious expression on his face. He was clutching his father's robes tightly, as if vaguely understanding what Dumbledore was trying to do. James rubbed his boy's back warmly. Harry blinked back.

"My dear Lily, I'm afraid that we have little choice. Young Harry is practically a squib -"

"Then it's YOUR job to figure out how to get his magic back, Dumbledore!" James shouted. He clenched his wand in anger. "Harry defeated You-Know-Who and the thanks you give is to shove him into the muggle world?! He spent his magic to save ALL of us!" He was shaking. Furious. This was a man he admired for years and somehow he thought it would be okay if Harry would be with Lily's just AWFUL sister. Harry made a small grunt, and James calmed.

"I'm sure Petunia would not mind. Harry is her nephew. And if you claim she hates magic, she will treat Harry perfectly fine. Perhaps better than fine."

At this, Lily paused. Lily understood the logic.. vaguely. If Petunia were told that Harry no longer had magic, Petunia may see her baby Harry, magic-less, and see herself. Petunia may even spoil Harry and drive him to hate Richard, because Richard would have magic and Harry would not. Arabella Figg even lived on Privet Drive and would be a good mentor. In addition, if Harry grew up in the Wizarding World, people would shun Harry for his lack of magic. Savior of the Wizarding World or not. Wizards and witches were idiots in that sense.

That said, Lily and James Potter were not going to simply toss the boy away. And Lily would never allow her boys to fight the same way she and her sister did. Though Lily made note of a potential babysitter's for Harry.

"Young Harry will grow up to shun his brother for having magic," Dumbledore said.

"We'll figure something out," James said, thinking to himself.

"He can't attend Hogwarts without magic."

"Only if his magic is completely gone, as you say. Maybe Harry can get a Mastery in History of Magic," Lily mused out loud.

"James, Lily," Dumbledore said, sighing. His two former students were being irrational. He loves Harry, a boy who used to smile brightly and tug on his beard, but Harry no longer fit in the magical world.

And he knew first hand the disaster and tragedy that could occur if wizarding parents had to raise a squib-like child. He didn't want little Richard to feel as guilty or resentful as he had, whenever he thought of Ariana now, and then.

"Anyway," Lily said, glaring out the window, "How do you plan on explaining that Harry has the cursed scar, while Richard does not?"

"Well, Harry would be out of the public eye. And we can give Richard a different permanent -"

"YOU ARE NOT TOUCHING EITHER OF MY BABIES."

Dumbledore paused, not closing his mouth. Perhaps that was a terrible approach. "... my apologies, Lily."

There was a knock. Rather a formality, as the door no longer stood. In the entry way was Sirius and Lupin, who held a small rat in a cage. Sirius's grin was feral. Lupin's eyes were glowing. They looked dangerous.

"Caught the rat."

Dumbledore looked perplexed, and concerned, and he subtly blocked the Potters from the dark wizard and the werewolf at the door.

Lily, understanding immediately, got up from the chair to greet the two guests. "Sirius was not our secret keeper."

Dumbledore's gaze loosened. "He was not?"

"THIS. Pettigrew," Sirius spat the name while rattling the cage, "was made secret keeper at the last minute. Once Lily and James got home, they sent for us to hunt the rat down. The rat was babysitting the twins while the two looked for different food for the boys. Must have let Voldemort in while they were gone. The TRAITOR."

Remus nose flaring, hummed. "Almost got to thank him for that. If James and Lily were home, they might have been killed fighting off Voldemort. Now everyone is safe."

Sirius's eyes flashed in fear at the thought of James dying. And went back to glaring death into Pettigrew in the next moment. Sirius would have lost control and killed Pettigrew. He still wanted to kill Pettigrew, but he had better ideas for some torture.

"Harry is a squib now," Dumbledore said sadly, changing topics while Sirius slammed the magically sealed cage holding Peter Pettigrew down onto a nearby table.

"Harry registers as empty of magic, but it's possible that his magic may return," Lily corrected.

"Send him to that school in America then."

When Sirius turned from glaring at Pettigrew, the adults and Harry were looking at Sirius in confusion.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Blacks have a history of inbreeding and squibs. But a Black is a Black. They send the squib to a Magic Disabilities School in America where they have better laws of protection. The headmaster's wife is a second cousin. They normally won't let in international students unless you have inside connections - otherwise their school would be overflowing."

"We're moving to America," James said immediately. He made a motion to start gathering his boys' things.

"James," Dumbledore said alarmed. "Perhaps just send Harry. Wizarding Britain needs their hero. They need Richard.

"I don't understand why Harry can't simply be hailed as a hero here. He'd be a martyr, people would still love him. It wasn't as if Harry was born a squib," Remus said quietly.

"The Wizarding World still needs strength. They need a champion in case the Dark Lord returns."

"He's dead, Dumbledore," James said forcefully.

Albus sighed. "I am.. concerned that -"

"Leave," James continued. "The rest of us will rebuild and then talk about our options. Albus made an expression as if to say something. "We won't abandon our Harry anywhere. But we may consider claiming Richard is the defeator of Voldemort.. for now. Until then, please leave my home."

Albus nodded. "I hope you make the best decision."

"We will," said the Potters. And as Dumbledore left the Potter Home and headed to Ariana's grave to mourn, Harry's clutch on his father's robes.

EPILOGUE:

As it so happened, Harry did eventually get his magic back.

That is, after he had defeated Lord Voldemort for the final time. And in the aftermath, Richard who loved his brother very much, who grew up with the guilt of taking his brother's credit, made a short announcement at a press conference soon after the fact.

"After today, please stop taking photos of me," was Richard's parting statement.

To their credit, not everyone in the Wizarding World was surprised. Those who weren't knew Richard was only an above average wizard who was said to have destroyed Voldemort in baby-vengeance after Harry had been cursed by the Dark Lord.

Harry would later still visit his American friends often - friends, who by their own talents had helped him track down Voldemort's horcruxes. Petunia, surprisingly, still sent birthday cards - always leaving off Richard's name - , though she was reluctant to meet Harry after he got his magic back.

Lily and James Potter were very proud of raising both of their boys well. But most importantly, they were glad that they stood up to Dumbledore's misguided plans.

At the hospital, Dumbledore smiled while a humble Richard hugged his tired, magically restored brother Harry Potter who was still recovering in a St. Mungo's bed. He was going to need tutelage to catch up on years of magical training.

"The Power he knows not... was Love, indeed."

* * *

** Richard's name.. because I always thought the phrase, "Every Tom, Dick, and Harry," to be amusing, and Dick is a nickname of Richard.


End file.
